Methods for determining operational settings and related devices

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a method, applied in a mobile device, for determining operational settings of the device. Country information is retrieved on the device. An operational setting of a function is automatically determined based on the country information. Furthermore, a table comprising a plurality of first fields for recording country information and a plurality of second fields, each of which being corresponding to one first field, for recording output signal formats/exposure time range is provided. After the country information on the device is acquired, an output signal format/exposure time range of a function on the device is determined based on the country information by looking up the table.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. application Ser. No. 11/091,166, filed Mar. 28, 2005.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates generally to methods for determining operational settings, and, more particularly to methods for determining operational settings-according to country codes, and related devices.

With the convenience of portable devices, such as mobile phones, smart phones, and PDAs, one can easily carry a device when traveling. Some functions on the devices, however, are country based. For example, TV output video signal formats differ by country. In America, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Philippines, Taiwan, and others, the video signal format is NTSC (National Television System Committee). In Australia, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, and others, the video signal format is PAL (Phase Alternation by Line). In France, Egypt, Iran, Vietnam, and others, the video signal format is SECAM (Systeme Electronique Couleur Avec Memoire). If the devices roam from Taiwan to China, the TV output video signal format must be reset to PAL. Conventionally, the reset procedures for functions are performed manually, which is inconvenient and time-consuming.

SUMMARY

Methods for determining operational settings and related devices are provided.

In an exemplary embodiment of a method for determining operational settings, country information is retrieved on a device. An operational setting of a function on the device is determined based on the country information.

In another exemplary embodiment of a device, means for retrieving/acquiring first country information; and means for determining an operational setting of a function on the device based on the first country information are provided.

In another exemplary embodiment of a method for determining output signal format/exposure time range of a function for use in a device, a table comprising a plurality of first fields for recording country information and a plurality of second fields, each of which being corresponding to one first field, for is recording output signal formats/exposure time range is provided. Then, country information on the device is acquired, and an output signal format/exposure time range of a function on the device is determined based on the country information by looking up the table.

Methods for determining operational settings may take the form of program code embodied in a tangible media. When the program code is loaded into and executed by a machine, the machine becomes an apparatus for practicing the disclosed method.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will become more fully understood by referring to the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of a device;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of a device;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a method for determining operational settings;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a method for retrieving country information;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a method for retrieving country information;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a method for retrieving country information;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a method for determining output signal format;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of a preferred signal format table;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a method for system time adjustment;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a method for determining exchange rates;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of a time zone table;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of a currency value table;

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a banding situation;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a method for determining exposure time range;

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of a fluorescent lamps frequency table;

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of an exposure time table; and

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating the correspondence between exposure time range and fluorescent lamps frequency.

DESCRIPTION

Methods for determining operational settings and related devices are provided.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a device 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The device 110 may be a portable device, such as a mobile phone. It is understood that the mobile phone is used in the embodiments, but not limited thereto. The device 110 comprises a processing unit 111 and a storage device 112. The processing unit 111 performs related operation and related determination of the present invention. The storage device 112 stores operational settings of functions. The operational settings depend on the functions. For example, the operational setting may be TV output video signal format for the TV output function. The operational setting may be system time, exchange rates, exposure time ranges, and others. The storage device 112 further stores related tables for looking up operational settings for specific functions. The tables will be discussed later. The device 110 communicates with a communication network 120, such as a telecommunication system, which may be Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution (EDGE), Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), and others. The device 110 receives system information from the communication network 120, and retrieved country information accordingly. The country information can be stored in the storage device 112.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a device 210 according to another embodiment of the present invention. The device 210 may be a portable device, such as a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) The device 210 comprises a processing unit 211, a storage device 212, and a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver 213. Similarly, the processing unit 211 performs related operation and determination of the device 210. The storage device 212 stores operational settings of functions and related tables for looking up operational settings for specific functions. The GPS receiver 213 can communicate with a GPS satellite 230, receive signals therefrom, and calculates position information accordingly, such as longitude and latitude of the device 210. The device 210 determines country information according to the position information. The country information can be stored in the storage device 212.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a method for determining operational settings. In step S310, country information is retrieved. Then, in step S320, the operational setting of a specific function is determined based on the country information.

Several methods of retrieving country information (implemented in S310) are provided.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a first method for retrieving country information. The first method can be applied in the device 110. In step S410, the device 110 listens to a broadcast control channel (BCCH) provided by the communication network 120, i.e. the GSM communication system, and receives system information from the channel. It is understood that the communication network, GSM communication system, broadcasts system information in BCCH, and respective mobile stations (device) can acquire the information therefrom for further calculation and processing. The system information comprises a location area identifier (LAI) comprising a country code, a communication network code, and a location area code. Then, in step S420, country information, such as the country code in the location area identifier is retrieved from the system information.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a second method for retrieving country information. The second method can be applied in the device 110. In step S510, the device 110 receives a location area identifier from the communication network 120 during location update procedures between the device 110 and the communication network 120. The location update procedures may occur during registration between the device 110 and the communication network 120, device movement to a new location area, and others. Similarly, the location area identifier comprises a country code, a communication network code, and a location area code. It is understood that the location area identifier can be also obtained during other procedures, such as PLMN (Public Land Mobile Network) selection after switch-on, normal cell selection, PLMN selection from lack of coverage, manual PLMN search, HPLMN (Home Public Land Mobile Network) search, and others. Then, in step S520, country information, such as the country code is retrieved from the location area identifier.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a third method for retrieving country information. The third method can be applied in the device 210. In step S610, the GPS receiver 213 of the device 210 receives signals from the GPS satellite 230. The signals can be used to generate position information, such as longitude and latitude of the device 210. Then, in step S620, a country map (not shown) is looked up to determine country information according to the position information. It is understood that the country map records the contours of respective countries in longitude and latitude.

It is understood that the country information can be set via an interface (not shown) of the device 110/210 by a user. Furthermore, in some embodiments, after the device obtains the country information, the device can show the obtained country information on the interface for the user to confirm. When the user thinks the obtained country information is incorrect, the user can overwrite and reset the country information via the interface.

Additionally, the country information can be also identified according to city information set via an interface (not shown) of the device 110/210 by the user. For example, when traveling from one country to another, the user will reset the-system time of the device 110/210 manually by selecting a city from a city list provided in the device 110/210. The device 110/210 comprises a first mapping table (not shown) for mapping a specific city to a corresponding time zone, and the device 110/210 will base on the mapped time zone to set the system time. Also, the device 110/210 has a second mapping table (not shown) for mapping a specific city to corresponding country information, and the device 110/210 will base on the city information obtained during the system time setting by the user to look up the second mapping table so as to obtain the country information.

Several examples of operational setting determination for specific functions (implemented in S320) are provided.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a method for determining output signal format. In step S710, country information is retrieved. It is understood that the country information can be retrieved according to the location area identifier (referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5) or the position information of the device 210 (referring to FIG. 6), and is not limited thereto. In step S720, a preferred signal format table is looked up to determine a specific output signal format according to the country information. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of a preferred signal format table 800. The table 800 comprises a plurality of first fields for strong country codes, and a plurality of second fields. Each of the second fields corresponds to a first field for storing TV output video signal format(s) acceptable in the country represented by the corresponding country code. As shown in FIG. 8, the TV output video signal formats for Taiwan (TWN), America (USA) and China (CHN) are NTSC, NTSC and PAL, respectively. If the retrieved country information regards Taiwan, the TV output video signal format is automatically determined to be NTSC. It is understood that if several formats are acceptable in a country, all of the formats may be stored in the preferred signal format table, and the most widely used format can be set as a default format. In some embodiments, the device 110 may show all of the acceptable formats on the interface for user selection.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a method for system time adjustment. In step S910, country information is retrieved. It is understood that the country information can be retrieved according to the location area identifier (referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5) or the position information of the device 210 (referring to FIG. 6), and is not limited thereto. In step S920, time difference is calculated according to the current country corresponding to the retrieved country information and a country that the device 110/210 previously located. It is understood that the country that the device 110/210 previously located can be obtained from the storage device 112/212. Furthermore, the device 110/210 has a time zone table 1100, as shown in FIG. 11. The time zone table comprises a plurality of first fields for storing country codes, and a plurality of second fields. Each of the second fields corresponds to a first field for storing time zone(s) (standard time) where the country represented by the corresponding country code is located and covers. It is understood that if several time zones are in the current country, a selection of time zones or cities corresponding to time zones can be user provided. As shown in FIG. 11, the standard time for country code TWN (representing Taiwan) is +08:00, the standard time for country code JPN (representing Japan) is +09:00, and the standard time for the Western portion of country code USA is −08:00, and for the Eastern portion of country code USA is −05:00. Since the USA has several time zones, corresponding cities (not shown) can be further recorded in the table 1100 for user selection. By looking up the time zone table, the standard time for the current country and the standard time for the previously located country are obtained, thus, the time difference therebetween can be calculated. Then, in step S930, the system time of the device 110/210 is adjusted based on the time difference between the two countries. For example, if a device roams from Taiwan to Japan, one hour is added to the system time of the device.

It can be easily understood that as for the device 210 having the GPS receiver 213, the information of time zone can be provided according to the position information, i.e. the longitude and latitude of the device 210.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a method for determining exchange rates. In step S1010, country information is retrieved. It is understood that the country information can be retrieved according to the location area identifier (referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5) or the position information of the device 210 (referring to FIG. 6), and is not limited thereto. In step S1020, an exchange rate between the circulated currency in the current country corresponding to the retrieved country information and that in a country that the device 110/210 previously located is determined. It is understood that the country that the device 110/210 previously located can be obtained from the storage device 112/212. Furthermore, the device 110/210 has an exchange rate table 1200, as shown in FIG. 12. The exchange rate table 1200 comprises a plurality of first fields for storing country codes, and a plurality of second fields. Each of the second fields corresponds to a first field for storing the exchange rate between the circulated currency in the country represented by the corresponding country code and the United States dollar. In FIG. 12, the exchange rate for country code USA is 1 since the exchange rate between the circulated country in United States and US dollar (exchange rate USA/USA) is 1, while that for country code TWN is 31.12 since the exchange rate between the circulated country in Taiwan and US dollar (exchange rate TWN/USA) is 31.12. By looking up the currency table 1200, the exchange rate between the circulated currency in the current country and US dollar together with that between the circulated currency in the previously located country and US dollar are obtained, thus, the exchange rate between the circulated currency in the current country and that in the previously located country can be calculated. In some embodiments, the information provided in the exchange rate table can be dynamically updated via the communication network 120.

The principles of digital and traditional cameras are similar. The reflected light from objects is focused inside the camera via optical lens. The difference between digital and traditional cameras is the imaging material. The reflected light causes a chemical change to the photographic detectors coated on the film of traditional cameras, and the traditional cameras record object images accordingly. The film must be developed after the darkroom process to obtain photos accordingly. Films are no longer required for digital cameras. The imaging material for digital cameras is a semiconductor imaging material, called sensor. The sensor transforms the input light into electric charge signals with different intensity, and digital data transformed from the electric charge signals is processed, i.e. compressed, and then is stored as computer readable image data files, such as JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) files. The image data files are stored in the memory of digital cameras, and can be uploaded to computer for further selection.

One type of sensors of digital cameras is called CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) sensors, which can be rolling shutter sensors. In rolling shutter sensors, a few lines of an image are exposed at one time, and next unexposed lines of the image are exposed after the previous lines of the image have been exposed and captured. The process (exposure for part of lines) is repeated until the entire image is complete, and the lines exposed with time differences are integrated to obtain the image. In rolling shutter sensors of cameras, since an entire image is captured by exposing lines of the image one by one with starting exposure time differences, respective lines may have different exposures if an exposure time for respective lines does not correspond to the fluorescent lamps frequency of the fluorescent lamp.

Banding situations occur in images captured by rolling shutter sensors due to the different exposures of lines. Since respective exposing lines of the image may have different exposures, the accumulated energies for respective exposing lines may be different. If the accumulated energies for respective exposing lines are different, graduated colors of an image break into larger blocks of a single color, and the “smooth” look of a proper gradation of the image is reduced, resulting in the Banding situations.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a banding situation. As shown in FIG. 13, since the exposure time does not correspond to the fluorescent lamps frequency of the fluorescent lamp, the accumulated exposure energies for the first and second lines of one image are different, resulting in the banding situation. As shown in FIG. 13, the exposure time (Exposure Time 1) within exposure time rang a1-b1 for the first line does not correspond to/equal the flash period a1-c1 of the fluorescent lamp, and the exposure time (Exposure Time 2) within exposure time rang a2-b2 for the second line does not correspond to/equal the flash period a2-c2 of the fluorescent lamp, the accumulated exposure energies for the first and second lines (Energy 1 and Energy 2) are different. It is understood that the invention is not limited to rolling shutter sensors, the invention can also apply to sensors capturing an entire image in once during sequential shooting.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a method for determining exposure time range. In step S1410, country information is retrieved. It is understood that the country information can be retrieved according to the location area identifier (referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5) or the position information of the device 210 (referring to FIG. 6), and is not limited thereto. In step S1420, a fluorescent lamps frequency table is looked up to determine a specific exposure time range according to the country information. The exposure time range is set to a multiple of half of the reciprocal of the located fluorescent lamps frequency. It is understood that the timing for setting the exposure time range can be the time when the country information is received as the device camps on a communication network or as the device obtains position information by receiving signals from the GPS satellite, or the time when the image capture function (i.e. camera function) is enabled. In some embodiments, the user can make the setting time selection and trigger the setting of exposure time range via interface of the device 110/210.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of a fluorescent lamps frequency table 1500. The table 1500 comprises a plurality of first fields for strong country codes, and a plurality of second fields. Each of the second fields corresponds to a first field for storing the fluorescent lamps frequency of the fluorescent lamp used in the country represented by the corresponding country code. As shown in FIG. 15, the fluorescent lamps frequencies for Taiwan (TWN), America (USA) and China (CHN) are 60, 50 and 50 HZ, respectively. Therefore, the exposure time ranges for Taiwan (TWN), America (USA) and China (CHN) can be set to multiples of 1/120, 1/100 and 1/100 seconds, respectively. In some embodiments, an exposure time table 1600 is provided in the device. As shown in FIG. 16, for example, the exposure time table 1600 directly stores the exposure time ranges for Taiwan (TWN), America (USA) and China (CHN) as 1/120, 1/100 and 1/100 seconds, respectively.

It is understood that if several fluorescent lamps frequencies are used in a country, all the fluorescent lamps frequencies may be stored in the table, and the most commonly used frequency can be set as a default. In some embodiments, the device 110 may show all of the acceptable fluorescent lamps frequencies on the interface for user selection. Further, if several fluorescent lamps frequencies are respectively used in areas of a country, the specific fluorescent lamps frequency of one area can be located from a table recording respective areas and corresponding fluorescent lamps frequencies according to the position information generated by the GPS receiver 213 of the device 210. It is also understood that if no GPS signal is received, the previous position information can be used for locating fluorescent lamps frequency. In some embodiments, if no GPS signal is received, the system information from BCCH can be used for locating fluorescent lamps frequency. After setting the exposure time range corresponding to the located fluorescent lamps frequency, the accumulated exposure energies for A and B are equalized, thus eliminating the banding situation.

Please refer to FIG. 17. FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating the correspondence between exposure time range and fluorescent lamps frequency. Compared with FIG. 13, the exposure time corresponds to the fluorescent lamps frequency of the fluorescent lamp. Namely, the exposure time rang a1-b1 of the first line corresponds to/equals the flash period a1-c1 of the fluorescent lamp, and the exposure time rang a2-b2 of the second line corresponds to/equals the flash period a2-c2 of the fluorescent lamp. Therefore, the accumulated exposure energies (Energy 1 and Energy 2) for the first and second lines of one image are the same, not resulting in banding situation.

It should be understood that not only the operation setting can be determined according to the obtained country information/position information, but also some country/area related information can be provided according to the same. For example, the voltage information and/or circulated currency regarding to the country/area represented by the obtained country information/position information can be provided when the user travels to different countries/areas.

As for the device 210 having the GPS receiver 213, an automatic operational setting of camera mode can be provided. According to the position information, i.e. the longitude and latitude of the device 210, the time zone where the device 210 is located can be obtained, and according to the information of time zone, the sunrise time and sunset time can be calculated. Therefore, the device 210 can base on the system time and the sunrise/sunset time information to decide whether it is daytime or not. If it is daytime, the camera will be automatically set as day shot mode, and if it is night time, the camera will be automatically set as night shot mode. It can be easily understood that the automatic camera mode setting can be overridden by the manual camera setting of the user via the interface of the device 210.

Methods for determining operational settings, or certain aspects or portions thereof, may take the form of program code (i.e., executable instructions) embodied in tangible media, such as products, floppy diskettes, CD-ROMS, hard drives, or any other machine-readable storage medium, wherein, when the program code is loaded into and executed by a machine, such as a computer, the machine thereby becomes an apparatus for practicing the methods. The methods may also be embodied in the form of program code transmitted over some transmission medium, such as electrical wiring or cabling, through fiber optics, or via any other form of transmission, wherein, when the program code is received and loaded into and executed by a machine, such as a computer, the machine becomes an apparatus for practicing the disclosed methods. When implemented on a general-purpose processor, the program code combines with the processor to provide a unique apparatus that operates analogously to application specific logic circuits.

While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. Those who are skilled in this technology can still make various alterations and modifications without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention shall be defined and protected by the following claims and their equivalents. 

1. A method for determining operational settings for use in a device, comprising: retrieving/acquiring first country information on the device; and determining an operational setting of a function on the device based on the first country information.
 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising: listening to a control channel provided by a communication network, and receiving system information of the communication network from the control channel, in which the system information comprises a location area identifier; and retrieving/acquiring the first country information from the location area identifier.
 3. The method of claim 1 further comprising: receiving/acquiring a location area identifier during a location update procedure between the device and a communication network; and retrieving/acquiring the first country information from the location area identifier.
 4. The method of claim 1 further comprising: receiving signals, and generating position information of the device accordingly; and identifying the first country information according to the position information of the device.
 5. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving a setting of the first country information via an interface of the device.
 6. The method of claim 1 further comprising: receiving a city information setting via an interface of the device; and identifying the first country information according to the city information.
 7. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining an output signal format based on the first country information.
 8. The method of claim 1 further comprising: providing a second country information previously located by the device; calculating a time difference based on the first and second country information; and adjusting a system time of the device based on the time difference.
 9. The method of claim 1 further comprising: providing a second country information previously located by the device; and determining an exchange rate based on the first and second country information.
 10. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining an exposure time range for capturing lines of an image based on the first country information.
 11. A device, comprising: means for retrieving/acquiring first country information; and means for determining an operational setting of a function on the device based on the first country information.
 12. The device of claim 11 further comprising: means for listening to a control channel provided by a communication network, and receiving system information of the communication network from the control channel, in which the system information comprises a location area identifier; and means for retrieving/acquiring the first country information from the location area identifier.
 13. The device of claim 11 further comprising: means for receiving a location area identifier during a location update procedure between the device and a communication network; and means for retrieving/acquiring the first country information from the location area identifier.
 14. The device of claim 11 further comprising: means for receiving signals, and generating position information of the device accordingly; and means for identifying the first country information according to the position information of the device.
 15. The device of claim 11 further comprising: means for receiving a setting of the first country information via an interface of the device.
 16. The device of claim 11 further comprising: means for receiving a city information setting via an interface of the device; and means for identifying the first country information according to the city information.
 17. The device of claim 11 further comprising: means for determining an output signal format based on the first country information.
 18. The device of claim 11 further comprising: means for providing a second country information previously located by the device; means for calculating a time difference based on the first and second country information; and means for adjusting a system time of the device based on the time difference.
 19. The device of claim 11 further comprising: means for providing a second country information previously located by the device; and means for determining an exchange rate based on the first and second country information.
 20. The device of claim 11 further comprising: means for determining an exposure time range for capturing lines of an image based on the first country information.
 21. A method for determining output signal format of a function for use in a device, comprising: providing a table comprising a plurality of first fields for recording country information and a plurality of second fields, each of which being corresponding to one first field, for recording output signal formats; retrieving/acquiring country information on the device; and determining an output signal format of a function on the device based on the country information by looking up the table.
 22. A method for determining exposure time range of an image capturing function for use in a device, comprising: providing a table comprising a plurality of first fields for recording country information and a plurality of second fields, each of which being corresponding to one first field, for recording exposure time ranges; retrieving/acquiring country information on the device; and determining an exposure time range of the image capturing function on the device based on the country information by looking up the table.
 23. A method for adjusting system time for use in a device, comprising: providing a table comprising a plurality of first fields for recording area information and a plurality of second fields, each of which being corresponding to one first field, for recording time zone information; retrieving/acquiring a first area information currently located by the device; providing a second area information previously located by the device; obtaining a first time zone information for the first area information and a second time zone information for the second area information by looking up the table; calculating a time difference based on the first and second time zone information; and adjusting the system time of the device based on the time difference.
 24. A method for setting camera mode for use in a device, comprising: providing a table comprising a plurality of first fields for recording area information and a plurality of second fields, each of which being corresponding to one first field, for recording time zone information; retrieving/acquiring area information currently located by the device; obtaining time zone information by looking up the table; obtaining sunrise and sunset information according to the time zone information; and setting the camera mode according to the sunrise and sunset information.
 25. A method for acquiring country/area related information for use in a device connected to a communication network, comprising: providing a table comprising a plurality of first fields for recording country/area information and a plurality of second fields, each of which being corresponding to one first field, for recording country/area related information; receiving system information from the communication network; retrieving country/area information currently located by the device from the system information; and acquiring country/area related information based on the country/area information by looking up the table.
 26. A method for acquiring country/area related information for use in a device capable of receiving GPS (Global Positioning System) signals from a GPS satellite, comprising: providing a table comprising a plurality of first fields for recording country/area information and a plurality of second fields, each of which being corresponding to one first field, for recording country/area related information; receiving GPS signals from the GPS satellite and calculating position information regarding to the device; acquiring country/area information currently located by the device based on the position information; and acquiring country/area related information based on the country/area information by looking up the table. 